Book Week 2026

This year, our services celebrated Book Week and the theme of “Symphony of Stories” with colourful costumes and fun learning experiences. Here is a snapshot of how some of our services celebrated this year.

At our Broadmeadows Valley service, Room 8 spent the week celebrating books, stories, authors and illustrators. Children and educators dressed as their favourite characters each day, and each child brought a favourite book from home to share during group time, introducing the room to stories they might not have read before. Educator Zaahirah says the week supported more than costumes and fun. “The children were building their literacy skills, expanding their imagination and connecting with their peers during the dress-up days,” she says. Joining the daily Book Week parade gave children another chance to build on these connections, walking together and admiring each other’s costumes along the way.

Room 6 opened the week with Belinda by Pamela Allen before turning to a longtime favourite, The Wizard of Oz. The story stayed with the children well beyond story time, sparking a creative arts project where children built their own yellow brick road. Alongside the dress-ups, the room worked through reading, writing and discussion activities linked to their chosen books.

Behind the scenes, staff worked to let families and the wider service know Book Week was on its way. Educator Stephen and the children turned cardboard collected from the service’s recycling station into a giant display for the entrance. Working in small groups over several days, children each took on a different section of the display, with the pieces coming together on the Friday before Book Week began.

In Room 7, children turned into authors and illustrators of their own stories, building on lessons about the parts of a book covered before each reading. Children learned to spot the front cover, the back cover, the spine, and where to find the author and illustrator’s names. From here, children wrote and illustrated their own stories before sharing them during group time. Educator Tash says the experience reached further than literacy skills alone. “This experience has encouraged children to create their stories then share them at group times to their peers, supporting social connections and their self-confidence presenting their ideas to a group,” she says.

Meanwhile, at Oberon Kindergarten, children joined their local primary school for its Book Week parade. Children watched each school class parade past in costume, with teachers dressed up alongside the students, and families from both services came along to watch. Kindergarten Manager Sam reflects on the experience. “It was a wonderful morning with all children participating, we enjoyed watching all of the school classes parade and even the teachers were dressed up. The school warmly welcomed us. It was a wonderful community experience for all,” she says.

And at The Harbour, children and educators also dressed up in their favourite costumes and had their own Book Week parade around the service’s garden.

Read more about how children became published authors during last year’s Book Week.